Arm position (w/picture)

Matthias Lenz

Hi there,

please have a look at the picture below. I´d like your opinions or some advice considering the two arm positions.

As you can see, my 00-sized acoustic is pretty small, and somehow finding the "right" position seems a bit difficult. I found out I can play in both positions, but with the following specific differences :

To the left :

Advantage : Biceps is resting on guitar and the arm feels really relaxed, good mobility and a lot of "punch" for the rest-strokes.
Disadvantage : The small body of the guitar forces me to lift the arm up quite a bit, and despite the good "punch", I feel I don´t really get an ideal pick angle. I find "La Pompe" harder to control in this position.

I prefer this position for practicing the picking patterns.

To the right :

Advantage : I don´t have to lift the arm up so much and I reach the sweet spot better and get a better pick angle. Still the arm feels relaxed (a very little bit less then the other position). I find "La Pompe" a lot easier to play in this position. Also the hand position looks more like "the real deal" when comparing it to the videos I watched in the archive section.
Disadvantage : Somehow there´s little less punch and mobility for playing single note lines, arpeggios etc., even though it´s all done from the wrist.


I think I´ll feel a lot better overall with the first position, once I get my hands on a selmserstyle guitar with a bigger body. All the guys I watched were rather resting their biceps on the guitar, but on my small box this somehow doesn´t do it properly. What do you think ? Is it okay to compensate with the second position ? Like I said, for rhythm playing it feels a lot better to me...

Looking forward to your comments on this...

Best wishes,

Matthias

MichaelHorowitz

Hi Mathias,

It definitely takes some adjustments when using a smaller guitar. The guitar that's in the Gypsy Picking book was actually pretty small and I had a similar problem.

In the photos below I think the one on the right looks much better...but it's hard to say without seeing you in action.

You might try "choking up" a little so your forearm is resting on the bout of the guitar (instead of the elbow.) That's why I did, and it helps get the hand in the correct "hanging position" over the strings.

good luck!

-Michael

a

the viewers right? the one on the viewers left looks more like it, no? in that picure, his arm is resting on the lower bout, more like django..

Matthias Lenz

Michael Horowitz wrote:

You might try "choking up" a little so your forearm is resting on the bout of the guitar (instead of the elbow.) That's why I did, and it helps get the hand in the correct "hanging position" over the strings.

That´s exactly what I do in the picture to the right. thanks for your advice, Michael !

Apart from this topic, it already feels quite natural to work with the rest-stroke technique, bent wrist and all that. Playing plectrum-style guitar has become more enjoyable than ever before, and it turns out to be a great asset to my life as a working musician.

Thanks again, man